


Midwinter

by lollyflop



Category: True Blood
Genre: Biting, Blood, Cheating, Divorce, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Yuletide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-23
Updated: 2016-02-04
Packaged: 2018-03-19 08:02:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3602508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lollyflop/pseuds/lollyflop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of "Thank You", Eric visits Sookie with a Yule gift. My attempt to get the HEA I wanted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea to write a fic where we catch up with Sookie one night a year.  
> I haven't written a fic in a really, really long time, so apologies on my rusty writing!  
> Serious sex coming in later chapters.

I shut the car door and took a big, deep inhale of the night air, leaning back against the cool metal of my trusty ol’ rust bucket.  The breeze smelled a little like snow, but I doubted we’d see any of that until January.  I knew I wouldn’t mind missing out on a white Christmas.  It was hard enough for me to get around without all that slush and snow.  With one month of this pregnancy to go, I was counting the days until I’d be free of swollen ankles, waddling around, having to pee all the damn time–

“Miss Stackhouse.”

My eyes fluttered shut and I sucked a deep draw of breath, trying to steady myself against the dizzy spin of my head.

“ _Mrs_. Martin,” I hissed through clenched teeth.

He made a noncommittal noise and strode towards me from the treeline.  He stopped several feet away, keeping space between us.  My fists still balled themselves at my sides.

“I’ve heard congratulations are in order.”

My eyes flicked to his.  He was just barely illuminated by the security light, making his features harsh, his skin ghostly. I straightened to my full height, trying to look brave.  “So are you going to congratulate me?”

His lips twitched to one side in a small grin.  He took a few steps closer with his usual confident saunter, his hips swaying like an old west lawman in the saddle.  “Are _you_ going to congratulate _me_?”  His voice was teasing. It sent a little tickle of nostalgia up my spine, an ache for days long gone.

He was referring, of course, to his vast wealth and corporate success with New Blood.  His company was in the news every week.  When I couldn’t sleep, the infomercials haunted me.  Eric's picture stared me down at the supermarket from magazine covers, tabloids and newspapers.

Any admiration I could’ve felt for his work was tempered by the fact that none of it was really his to gloat over.  I had no doubt that his road to fame was paved with blood and bodies–including Sarah Newlin’s.

Honestly, I used to have all kinds of thoughts and feelings on the issue.  For a couple years I let it gnaw at me.  But at this moment?  I had too many good things on my plate to worry about what he and Pam were up to.

He must’ve taken my silence as an answer.  “Well, congratulations, Miss Stackhouse.”

My temper flared and I stressed, “Mrs. Mar—“

His face was inches away from mine in a flash, and I know I flinched, pinned between him and my car. “It doesn’t have the same ring to it,” he said, his voice a low and lethal growl.  “Does it?”  His head tilted to one side and his eyes were on my lips, but his face betrayed no emotion.

“It’s my name, and it’s the name you will call me.”  My voice was softer than I intended. I was trembling. Shit.

His face went hard and his eyes narrowed as they met mine.  A tense silence hung between us for a while before he spat, “He still lets you work?”

“ _Lets_ me!”  I was fuming.  We needed the money, even though I was so far along.  Arlene had hired me to do some bookkeeping, so I was sitting in the office all day rather than waiting tables.  My doctor had assured me that it was perfectly safe and I wanted to work.  I didn’t want to lay around and wait to pop.

“If you were–“ He stopped himself.  His eyes searched my face for a moment, then he abruptly took a step back and let his gaze fall to the elephant in the room.  A little maternal reflex brought my hand up to rest protectively over my belly. I licked my lips to say something, but I couldn’t.  I suddenly felt weary under a haze of indistinct emotions.  I actually shrugged, feeling embarrassed for reasons I couldn’t begin to explain.

All at once, he pressed a package into my hands and muttered, “Goodnight, Miss Stackhouse.”  He zipped away into the trees. I shivered in the wake of his movement.  I just gaped at the spot where he’d vanished for a moment, searching for his mental signature–or, really, lack thereof–in the woods. But he was long gone.

At length, I brought my attention to what he’d handed me.  It was a rectangular box from Tiffany’s, tied with white ribbon.  A tag bore my maiden name in his beautiful penmanship. Tentatively, I opened the box, not sure at all what to expect. When I saw the gift, I actually laughed into the night air, my breath billowing in little clouds around my head until tears poured down my cheeks.

A baby rattle made from silver, engraved with “Adele”.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eric finds Sookie struggling with new motherhood.

I dropped the bag in the trash can and wiped my hands on my hips with a noise of disgust.

Adele had been sick all evening and it meant lots of trips to get the stinky stuff out of the house.  I blew a long breath through tight lips, puffing my cheeks out.  The cold night was such a welcome relief.  The baby was sleeping so I had a precious moment to myself.  It felt like a little miracle.  My eyes drifted closed as I pulled my cardigan tighter, breathing deeply.

When I heard a twig snap, my entire consciousness jerked to attention.  My eyes and mind scanned the edge of the woods wildly.  A little squeak of a scream escaped my throat when I saw someone striding towards me.

He sped forward into the light so I could see him properly.  “It’s just me, Sookie.”

“Jesus Christ,” I gasped, clutching my chest.  “What the fuck are you doing here? You could have the decency to knock on the front door or–God forbid– _call_.”

He had the good sense to look chastised, just for a moment.  “I apologize,” he said, but his face cracked into a grin.

“What do you want?”

“Well now,” he smirked.  “That’s not very Christmassy of you.”

I smiled, but threw my arms out to either side to let him take in my state.  I was unwashed, rumpled and an overall mess.  I probably smelled like–oh, never mind.  “Not feeling the spirit this year.  Sue me,” I piped in a sarcastic sing-song tone.

His face became serious.  “You’re alone,” he observed.

“Hank is out of town on a job,” I sighed, wiping my clammy forehead with my wrist. I hoped my tone indicated that I wouldn’t be speaking any more on that subject.

Eric let a silence hang. Eventually, his voice came, soft and pleading, “Let me help.”

I froze, feeling completely at sea with this strange request.  “Huh?”

He repeated himself slowly, less charitably, and I started to shake my head.  He huffed an exasperated sigh.  “Stubborn woman, I am a capable body with two hands offering you help when you so clearly need it,” he explained, as if I were a child.  “Say ‘yes please, thank you’ and invite me in.”

I was leery.  I’m not sure what someone might think, me inviting a vampire– _my former lover_ –into my home while my husband was away.  But out here, who would know?  I turned my head to look back at the soft glow of the back porch.  Laundry was piled by the back door and the living room was a disaster area and–

He must’ve sensed my unease. “I will behave, and we need never speak of this again.”

“Mr. Northman,” I croaked.  “Won’t you please come in?”

He followed me up the steps and surveyed the scene.  Wordlessly, he speeded about the kitchen and I marveled as the mess disappeared before my eyes.  After attempting to step in and help, I just threw my hands up and got out of the way.

I chuckled, crossing my arms and leaning against a counter, “Honestly, when’s the last time you cleaned anything for yourself?”

He stopped and smiled at me.  “I don’t even remember,” he admitted.  He pointed at a chair.  “Sit. I’ll make you something warm to drink.”

He flipped through a couple cabinets and in a few minutes, a cup of tea was ready in front of me and most of the dishes were washed.  I sat and tugged idly at the string, watching the water turn brown.

A thought struck me. I chewed at my lip.  “I hate to even ask, but can I have another favor?”

He turned slowly.  His face was smug.

“None of that,” I laughed, cutting him off before he could get an innuendo in.

“Oh, but Sookie,” he smirked. “After cleaning your kitchen?  You’d have to owe me one.”

I couldn’t keep my smile afloat.

“Sookie, what is it?” His tone dripped with concern.

“It’s… well… c-could you, maybe, _smell_ her for me?”

One eyebrow cocked.  Whatever he was expecting, my request wasn’t it.

“I’m not sure if she’s–”  I just let the sentence die.

His eyes narrowed and I saw his gears turning.

“Niall hasn’t spoken to me since the wedding,” I explained, awkwardly trying to make an “oh well” gesture.  I swallowed down the hurt that bubbled up.  “I think he wanted me to… _end up_ with a fairy.  That’s the sense that I got, at least. Anyway, I just don’t have a clue. It would sure put my mind at ease.”

Eric studied me for a long moment, then gave a silent nod.  I rose and walked to the nursery, almost on autopilot.  It was the question I’d had in the back of my mind since I found out I was expecting.  I hoped that the odds were with me–I was the first Fae-bearing female since the 1700s or something, for Pete’s sake, and then Hunter... it just wouldn’t make sense for tons of fairy-ness to show up in our gene pool all of the sudden.  At least that’s what I told myself.  But the knot in my stomach never quite untied itself, and the opportunity to know the truth was standing in my kitchen.

I picked my daughter up gently and she stirred slightly in her sleep.  Her cheeks were so pink, her eyelashes so blonde, her fingers so tiny.  My heart ached.  I wanted her all to my own and if anyone found out–I shook the thought from my head and walked back to where Eric waited in the kitchen.  I passed him the bundle and watched as he placed a kiss on her brow.  The image made my insides do flip-flops.  His eyes drifted shut and he breathed her in.

When he said nothing for a long beat, I prodded, “Does she smell like me?”

His eyes met mine.  “She smells like the North Sea, pine boughs, velvet.”

My gut lurched.

“And sunshine,” he finished.

My legs couldn’t hold my weight any longer.  He was instantly beside me on the floor, with Adele cradled safely in his arm.  A hand rubbed circles on my back as I drew my breath in ragged sobs.

“Look at her,” he demanded.  My eyes flicked to his, then to Adele’s sleeping face.  Tears blurred my vision.

“Tell me,” he barked.  “Tell me she is not perfect.  Tell me there is anything that you would not do to protect her.  Tell me that her gift is too much of a burden.”

“Of course not,” I managed.

He pressed his lips to my forehead.  I wanted to push him away, to remind him that I was a married woman, to remind him that he’d left without a word–

“Then you will get through this,” he said, as if the matter were a simple truth.

“You said it to me a thousand times,” I sobbed.  “She’ll be hunted, they’ll take her.”

“Like I told you a thousand times,” he said, then emphasized slowly, “I will protect you.”

Rage washed over me.  He saw it in my face.  His voice was icy when he asked, “Has harm come to you?  Have you felt unsafe for a moment in these last few years?”

I took a big gulp of air. “No,” I exhaled slowly, my voice weary.  Of course he’d been protecting me, with some sort of specialty supe security detail hiding in my woods at all times.  He didn’t need to be in my life to see to my safety.  Things had been so simple.  Not because they really were simple, but because I’d bought into the illusion.  I looked up at him, feeling small and helpless.

“Come,” his voice came, gentle and soothing.  “Let me tuck you both in.”

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sookie anticipates Eric's Midwinter visit.

I was sitting on the bench, wrapped in a blanket.

“Waiting for someone?”  All at once, he was standing on the porch steps, leaning against the post with his arms crossed like he’d been there for hours, posing for _GQ_.

I laughed softly and patted the bench beside me.  “First night of winter.  And here you are.”

He smirked.  “Always clever, Sookie.”  He sat and I tossed the blanket over him, too.  He chuckled at the gesture, but wrapped an arm around me and brought me to his side.  I nestled in, resting my head on his shoulder.  The leather of his jacket was chilly.

“Tell me about your year.”

He thought a moment.  “I bought an island,” he offered.

I laughed.  “Of course you did.”

“Willa came to live with us.  You may have heard.”

I sat up.  “That’s great!”  I smiled brightly. “She said she was moving away, but didn’t tell me it was to be with you.  I’m so glad to hear it.”

He nodded.  “Pam has been training her,” he explained.  “I guess you’d call her a Stepmaker.”

I laughed, settling back against his shoulder.

“I’m just pleased she could forgive me.”  His voice was soft, sad.  Silence hung in the air for a while.  “Can you?”

I blew out a long breath.  “How do you mean?”

He turned a bit and lifted my chin with a finger so that our eyes met.  “I did not understand the hurt I caused Willa when I abandoned her.  She explained it to me–often in rather colorful language–and she rightly pointed out that she was not the only one I had left.”

I sighed.  “No, it’s–”

He interrupted, “I abandoned you not once, but twice.  I was not taken.  I was not forced to go.  But I left you without a goodbye.  It was shameful.”

I shrugged, but my eyes still stung with tears.  I turned my head away and wiped my cheeks, sitting back to put some space between us.

“I expected all kinds of things from you,” I sighed.  “But deep down, I always knew who you really are.  And you’re not the kind to say goodbye.  I forgave you for that a long time ago.”

“But you still hurt,” he observed.

I nodded, with a little laugh.  “Of course I miss you.”

His eyes roamed over me for a moment.  “I have missed you, lover.”

I shot him a look.

“Oh, so you think our story is done?”

“That particular chapter,” I laughed, rolling my eyes and sniffling.

He shook his head.  “Never,” he breathed.  His face was a perfect statue of earnesty and determination. My insides lurched and my face fell sober.

“I’m a married woman, Eric,” I said, my voice soft and uncertain. Things hadn’t been great between Hank and I, but no marriage is easy. He was always gone and there was just so much between us unsaid. I felt like he was hiding from me so that I wouldn’t listen in on his thoughts, and it scared me. Regardless of the problems between me and my husband, my next words came more forcefully; “And I’m faithful.”

Eric’s eyes blazed.  “I would never question that.  But we will be lovers again.  And you should not question that.”

I took a steadying breath.  I blew it out slowly, hoping to calm my racing heartbeat. “Ego much?”

He laughed and gestured me towards his side.  I scooted back beside him and we sat staring together at the edge of the woods in silence for a long time.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sookie overhears a thought she wasn't meant to hear.

He’d thought her name before he could stop himself.  He knew what he’d done because he lifted his eyes to mine slowly.

“I–”

“Have to take this call,” I finished for him.  I waved him away.  “Go on.”

He strode quickly to the living room.  I pushed myself back from the table and covered my face in my hands, pulling breaths in lurching, halted gasps.

The soft knock at the back door startled me. I gaped at it for a moment, then blanched.

" _Not_ a good time," I hissed as I slipped outside.

Eric adopted a combat pose, ready to strike. "What has the fool done?"

"Nothing," I lied, all too quickly.

Eric's disbelief painted itself all over his form.

"Either way, I don't see how it's any of your goddamn business."  I hoped putting on a brave face would keep him from prying. This was not something I was prepared to talk about–or think about.

Eric flashed fang and his face was pure rage. I folded my arms and cocked an eyebrow.

"Sookie, I have loved–”

"Stop," I interjected, my voice deadly. "Stop right there. You come around here one day a year and you think you get to use that word and ask about my life? No sir. You don't know shit about me, about Hank or about love, so you can just get the fuck right outta here, Northman, 'cause I don't need it."

I turned on my heel and stalked back inside.  I slammed the door and didn’t care a lick if Hank heard it.

 

* * *

 

The text alert woke me with a start, and I sat up on the couch. I wiped my bleary eyes.

_You're right. I am sorry._

I blinked, my eyes adjusting to the light and my head adjusting to the admission.

_texting? not like u_

_More appropriate than flowers._

_yes but flwrs wud b nice_

_May I call?_

I turned the question over in my mind. I guessed it to be two in the morning and figured talking on the phone to anyone at that hour would be suspicious. But I also figured Hank would find it in his best interest to keep that suspicion to himself.

I threw on a jacket and slipped out onto the back porch. Eric picked up after two rings and I could hear the smile in his silky, "Miss Stackhouse."

I sighed deeply. He let the silence hang, waiting. I caved. "It was _one time_."

He growled, feral. "I'll rip his fucking–"

"You'll do nothing," I interrupted, my voice more calm than I felt. "It's not even fair that I know. I'm waiting to see if he'll tell me."

"Fair? You bore his child, you still work, you have been a faithful wife to him," Eric spat. "Fair does not apply."

A choked laugh loosed itself from my tight throat. "She calls all the time. She's some floozy trash from Bossier. He's had more opportunities and hasn't acted, so maybe it was a mistake." I wasn’t sure that I believed that, but I felt like I owed it to my husband to let him explain himself. I exhaled sharply, "I don't even know why I'm bothering you with my shit."

"Because I want to be bothered by your shit," he replied easily. A smile slapped itself on my face. After a long moment, he added, "And because I love you."

The bottom of my gut fell out. I drew a shuddering breath.

He chuckled darkly. "No worries, I have no mind to snatch you away from your philandering, piece of shit husband."

"I am not a woman who can be snatched away!"

He made a velvety _hmm_. I felt myself soften. Another silence settled, stretching comfortably as I stared out at the sky. My fingers were cold, my toes were freezing in my wet boots, my jacket wasn't nearly warm enough. I didn't even mind.

"I just–I wish we could’ve _tried_ ,” I sighed. “You and I.”

"We will," he said, and it sounded like an oath.

"When?"

"That's up to you."

"Time isn't exactly working with us," I scoffed, thinking of the crow's feet I kept eyeing in the mirror, thinking of the man sleeping alone in my bed who wore a gold wedding band with my name inscribed inside–even if it didn’t mean shit to him.

"Why not now?"

"You know why.”

"He’s married, and he's still taking calls from the woman he broke his vows with."

The words stung, but I couldn't deny the truth of them. But also I knew my grandmother’s advice would be that two wrongs never make a right.

Eric’s voice was heavy as he said, “Lover, go back inside before you freeze.”

"Goodnight," I breathed, a soft smile tugging at my lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Serious sex to come in the next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sookie visits Eric at Fangtasia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All sex. One plot point you'll catch up on very quickly in the next chapter, if you'd like to skip this one due to the content!

I knocked on his office door, too softly for a human ear to catch. The door opened and I swallowed hard as I stared at him. His eyes trailed up my body from my toes at a snail’s pace.

“Hello, lover.” His voice was heavy, sopping wet with desire. He reached forward and cupped my chin, his thumb brushing my jaw line.

“Hi,” I managed weakly.

He stepped aside and gestured me in. I stepped into his office and let my muscles relax a smidge when the door closed, blocking out some of the noise from the club.

“I can’t believe you still own this place,” I commented, my eyes moving to anything but his. Little had changed, aside from a nicer desk and chair. Strange mementoes from his life littered the space, with strange drawings and curious knick-knacks. His office has always struck me as equal parts utilitarian and sentimental, but hardly businesslike or professional. Idly, I wondered if he conducted his very important vampire business somewhere else.

Eric slipped behind me and nuzzled against my ear. “Many good memories of this place.”

I shivered at his closeness. A finger trailed down my neck across my shoulder, then forward, across my collarbone. "I'm not divorced yet," I whimpered.

He stepped in front of me and faced me squarely. "Are you divorced in your heart?"

I thought about it. I realized I had divorced Hank in every way that matters to me the moment he denied the affair. I wouldn't have even needed telepathy to know he was lying. His eyes had dodged mine as he hummed and hawed about what had happened, how he felt about that woman.

The courts could decide the rest. “I am.”

"What more do you need?"

 _That_ was a question I wouldn't let myself dwell on.

I stepped closer and leaned into the cool, firm frame of his body. I looked up into his face and saw devotion. I smiled. His lips were on mine in an instant, his fingertips trailing down my arms, finally settling in the curve of my back. My nerves were electric and his touch sent sparks all through me.

“We’re going to make love,” he whispered against my lips.

I realized my knees were knocking. “So sure of yourself,” I sighed, smiling, trying to seem at least a little cavalier.

He chuckled. His hands cupped my butt and he pulled me upwards, crushing my mouth into his. I groaned into the kiss, my hands flying up to rake through the hair at the back of his head. He picked me up with ease, then sat me up on the far arm of the leather couch, kneeling on the seat so that I had to bend down to keep our lips together.

He broke away suddenly and I gasped for breath, dazed. I stared at him, mouth agape and eyes wide. He growled. Lust was written all over his features.

He pulled my shirt up over my head and my bra was unhooked and tossed across the room at vamp speed. A reflex brought my hands up to cover my sudden nakedness.

He shook his head, tutting. His fingers gently encircled my wrists and plied them away. Eric dipped his head to place a kiss just above the button of my shorts and I made an incoherent squawk, twisting my arms to try and free them. He chuckled softly, tightening his grip a little. I blew out a breath as he guided my hands to rest beside my hips on the couch arm. He loosed my wrists and his index fingers tapped my hands. I took it to mean, “Stay put.”

Eric made a little contented noise against my belly when he saw that I was complying. He began slowly kissing and licking his way up, each movement stoking my need. I heard his fangs click out and I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for a bite.

His fang dragged across my nipple so gently that I cried out, half in surprise and half in pure pleasure. His left hand caught my left breast while he sucked and teased. My mouth hung open, little gasps and "aahs" punctuating the kneading of his lips and fingers.

He released my breasts and I swayed as I inhaled deeply, oxygen defogging my senses slightly.

"I have missed this," Eric sighed, leaning forward and resting his head over my heart.

My lips twitched into a smile. "What? Using my tits as a pillow?"

"No," Eric replied, his voice firm. "You. Your body. Feeling your heartbeat thrumming through my body."

Like always, his sudden earnesty and sweetness surprised me. "Oh." I brought a hand up to stroke his hair. In a flash he was sitting up and he had me by the wrist again. This time, he pressed a kiss to my palm before pushing my hand down the front of his jeans.

" _Oh_!"

He groaned as my fingers encircled his cock. "I have missed this," I giggled wickedly.

He smiled at me, his eyes dark. He undid his jeans and leaned forward, placing a kiss at my collarbone. I stiffened, again readying myself for a bite.

Eric's lips came to my ear and he hissed, "I won't drink from you."

My eyes shot open. "Why not?"

Eric peppered my shoulder with kisses. "Not until you say that you are mine."

Desire and annoyance battled it out in my gut. I made an impatient sound, eliciting a delicious laugh from Eric.

In a blur of movement, my shorts and panties were across the room and Eric's face was between my legs. I teetered precariously on the arm of the couch, one leg slung over his shoulder as he lay on his belly before me. He slipped two fingers in me as his tongue lapped circles around my clit. He growled and hummed against me, his fingers working in and out, building a searing, wonderful pressure in my belly. I loosed a chorus of vowel sounds as my hips worked in time with his fingers and mouth. One of my hands groped a breast of its own accord, my other hand gripping Eric's hair roughly, pulling him to me. I ground against his face, desperately seeking the orgasm that I knew was just mere moments off.

His head flew back and he lifted his hands, chuckling darkly. I reeled in the absence of his touch. I sputtered incoherently.

His face was predatory. "Patience, Sookie."

I realized my hips were rocking in place and my hand had not left my chest. I tugged my nipple and bit my lip, shaking my head. "I'm not a very patient person," I said, giving my best Jessica Rabbit. I reached down and began rubbing my clit slowly.

Eric was transfixed, one eyebrow raised as his gaze locked on my fingertips. Without looking away, he pulled off his tank top, kicked off his shoes and stepped out of his jeans. The sight of him naked sent white hot lust through me and I moaned. "Please," I begged. "Fuck me."

He strode towards me and gathered my hair in his fist as he crushed his lips to mine. He lifted me from my perch, one arm cupped under my butt.

He pinned me against the cold wall and my legs wrapped themselves around his hips. He gripped his cock and ran the tip of it up and down me, teasing me. I wriggled impatiently against him. He smirked. With one incredible thrust, he filled me completely. He cried out in some language, but I was sure I could translate the meaning with confidence.

He held me up against the wall with just his left hand under my ass. His right worked my clit as his hips rocked back and forth, dragging waves of pleasure through my body with his every movement.

"Oh, Sookie, this... I have missed you," he groaned between kisses and thrusts. "My love. This is best."

I shuddered against him as my orgasm clenched at the edges of my consciousness. "Fuck, Eric, ungggh–" I spat as my body lurched forward and pleasure ricocheted through my core. My limbs gave out but he held me steady. In three deep thrusts he was undone, crying out against my collarbone, his fangs just tickling my skin.

Eric held me there for a long beat before carefully setting me down, letting me test my weight on wobbly legs. He stepped back and sat on the edge of his desk. Without looking, he reached down and picked up a small black velvet box, tied with a crimson bow. He held it out, and I stepped forward to take it, my hands shaking. I eyed him uncertainly. "I'm not–"

He smiled tightly. "I know. But I am a very patient vampire," he teased.

I smiled, running my finger over the ribbon. "Okay," I replied, before moving to slip the box safely inside my purse.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sookie finally answers a looming question and Eric suggests a solution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up: this chapter ends with sex. Thanks for all the kudos!

"You have the right temperament for a vampire," he said. Déjà vu overwhelmed me.

"And an even better temperament for a mother," I barked back.

Eric nodded, trying to stay reasonable. "We will find a way, no matter what you choose."

We'd talked before–pretty much strictly in hypotheticals–about how raising Adele would work as a vampire.  The Great Revelation made everything so much simpler. Nannies and private schools would make it all possible. But I hated the thought of not hunting for Easter eggs on the lawn at noon or sweating over a barbecue of the Fourth of July.

His mouth was in a flat line. I knew he was holding back a thought.

“Out with it,” I sighed.

“I don’t want to be indelicate, but you aren’t getting any younger.”

I rolled my eyes. _Duh_. I turned on my heel to walk back into the kitchen.

“Sookie, you don’t understand.” I stopped, listening. “It may not be my place to discuss, but I feel like this is important to say. Pam is beautiful, fierce and incredibly strong.”

I half-turned and nodded vaguely, not following his gist.

“She is proud to be a vampire and I think if I had met her before I did, she wouldn’t have been as tempted to join our ranks,” Eric explained. “But there are times–she confesses to me that she wishes I had turned her when she was younger. She regrets that she is forever at her age.”

“Okay–what does that have to do with me?”

“Sookie, I’m saying that while you do not want to be a vampire now, there may come a day when you do. And I do not want that day to come when you are old, feeble and full of regrets,” Eric said. His eyes were pleading.

I sighed. “I appreciate that sentiment, but I won’t be changing my mind.”

Eric looked distressed. “I don’t understand.”

I threw my hands up, exasperated. “When have I ever shown even a passing interest in becoming a vampire?”

Eric’s eyes locked on the ring that sparkled from my left hand. I inhaled sharply, bringing it to my heart and covering it with my other hand. We hadn’t spoken of it since he’d given it to me just before Christmas last year. The day my divorce was finalized, I had slipped the ring onto my finger without a word of it to anybody. “When I put this on, I meant that I want to be with you so long as we both live,” I said, my voice sounding soft and sad to my ears. “I didn’t mean that I wanted to make that all of eternity.”

“And what about me?” A red tear streaked down Eric’s cheek.

I pressed my lips together, stifling a sob. I always considered my mortality in terms of my life. I knew I would get old and grey. I worried whether he would want me, want to care for me when I became decrepit. I always knew I would die. But I had failed to really acknowledge that I would be leaving Eric to live without me.

“To love is to gamble,” I sighed. I shrugged a little. “You lived for a thousand years with models and princesses. I think you could make it a thousand more without _me_.”

His face was stony. “Don’t.”

I swallowed, casting my eyes to the floor. I let my hands drop to my sides. “I won’t become a vampire just to keep you from being lonely.”

“I don’t want that,” he said, his voice raw. “But I don’t want to be without you.”

Tears blurred my vision. “I have a daughter who needs me. Needs a human mother who can take care of her while the sun is up, while the sun is down, always. I have family who needs me.” I drew a shaky breath, “And I need to be human. It’s me. It’s who I am.”

“You are a halfling.”

“A halfling. A mortal halfling with the tiniest bit of fairy blood.”

A little hope brightened his face. “Then go to Faery!”

“What?”

“You went to Faery for what you thought was minutes, and a year passed here,” Eric said, his voice full of the excitement of his idea. “This will let us be together for decades longer! And Adele will be safest with your grandfather, will she not?”

I frowned. “Niall still isn’t a part of our lives.”

“Ah! But Adele is Fae!” Eric smiled brightly. “He will want to meet her. He will want to bring her under his protection.”

I scrunched my face up. “No, this is ridiculous.”

“Why?”

I thought about it. I wanted Adele to grow up on the mortal plain. But I also wanted her to know the Fae; they could help her learn to use her magic, and Niall was about the only family we had, aside from Jason and his kids. I shook my head, fighting the thought back. “It’s a great escape plan if our lives are ever in danger, but I don’t want to skip out on years at a time, just to make this thing between us work.”

Eric was insistent. “Go to Faery. Niall will have an answer.”

I scoffed. “You act like I can just turn the corner and–BOOM–be in Faery. It doesn’t work like that.”

Eric strode to me, nodding.  “Of course,” he replied easily. He picked me up and lifted me, spinning me around. He was smiling, and it was contagious.

“Quit it,” I laughed.

He sat me down and beamed at me. “Whatever happens, Sookie Stackhouse, we will be together. I will love you and honor you.”

I smirked, but had no smart retort for that.

“When can we wed?”

I sputtered.

“In my heart, you are my wife, but I would like to tie things up legally,” he said, his tone even and rational. “This would protect you and Adele much more than our current arrangement.”

“I–” I started, but my head was spinning. “Why are we talking about this?”

“It’s been a year since you gave yourself to me,” Eric said, his face painted with confusion. “It only seems natural that we should–”

“ _Happy anniversary, thanks for the sex, let’s have a really uncomfortable discussion about some serious shit_ ,” I snapped, my voice bordering on hysterical.

Eric looked perplexed. He nodded. “Of course, you’re right. I should give you a better anniversary gift.”

I felt a prickle of guilt. I hadn’t gotten him anything. An idea struck me. “Can you wait here for ten minutes?”

I ran upstairs and dug through my closet. All the way at the back was the red and white dress I’d worn the first time I met Eric. I had tried to throw it out a thousand times and could never bring myself to part with it. I slipped the dress over my head and tugged the zipper up–okay, it fit more snugly than I remembered, but I still smiled at my reflection. I had told Eric I wanted to be the girl in this dress, the one who walked into his bar without a clue what she was stepping into. I knew I’d never be that Sookie again, but I felt more like myself than I had in years.

I took the stairs slowly, and I felt his eyes drinking me in. My smile was shaky–just like my knees.

He sauntered to me, a smirk on his face that definitely brought back some old memories. “Well aren’t you sweet?”

I laughed. “Not particularly.”

He smiled, but his face was thoughtful. “Have you heard the phrase ‘my life flashed before my eyes’?”

I felt my eyebrows twitch in confusion. I nodded.

“When your light brought my memories back, this happened to me,” he said, his fingers skimming down my arms before lacing with mine. “First, I remembered my life as a human, then I remembered being turned by Godric. But then, I remembered you in this dress.”

My mouth flopped open to form an “Oh,” but no sound came out.

He chuckled. “I also remembered you slapping me.”

A choked laugh came up and I shrugged, smiling. “Good memories.”

“You certainly make an impression,” Eric smirked. He pulled me into a hug.

I looked up at him. “As for your gift…” I exhaled. “ _Yes_. Yes I will marry you. I never told you I would marry you, but I will. I never told you that I am Yours, but I am.”

Eric’s face was a portrait of wonderment. Slowly, this awestruck smile morphed into something a little more sassy. “Fucking _finally_ ,” he roared, picking me up and spinning me around again. I squealed as he threw me over his shoulder. “It has only taken you a year to admit this; I’m glad you don’t rush into any decisions or anything.”

I laughed, “Hey!” I playfully smacked his back as he marched us upstairs.

When he deposited me on my bed, his face was less playful. “Do you know how long a year is to wait for your word, Sookie? For your hand? For your blood?”

I shook my head.

“It felt like an eternity,” he pressed his forehead to mine. “But I would wait it a thousand times over. You are unlike any woman I have met in all my years. There is a light in you, a fire. I do not mean your fairy light–I mean your spirit, the way your love pours out of you. You’d do anything for the ones you love. Adele, Jason… me.”

I gathered him up in my arms and pulled my hair to one side. He pressed his lips to my pulse and teased my flesh with his tongue. My eyes drifted closed as his hand came up to cradle my neck.

His lips came to my earlobe and I shuddered. “I love you,” he whispered. His fangs clicked out and I inhaled sharply. The needle-like pain made me flinch, but each draw of blood sent chills through my body.

He pulled away, his eyes searching my face. Wordlessly, he bit his palm and pressed it to my lips. He watched as I took the first delicious draw of his blood before pressing his lips to my throat to drink more from me. Each swallow sent my consciousness spiraling higher and higher into a delirious bliss, filling me with his strength and stoking my lust.

I pushed his hand away and wrapped my legs around him. I began to grind into his lap, mewing little sounds of need. He pressed his palm to my throat to heal the wounds, then licked to clean up the blood he had spilled.

“Please,” I begged, my hips rocking urgently. “Please please please.”

In a flash, he’d unzipped his pants and pulled himself free. He reached under my dress and pushed my panties aside. I grinned down at him and lowered myself onto his cock, crying out with every inch of pleasure. He pressed his lips to my collarbone and mumbled something in Old Norse. He gripped my hips tightly as I bounced, every movement a tangled mess of pleasure. I threw my head back and laughed and Eric grinned up at me, working his hips beneath me just faster than a human could manage. Idly, the thought occurred to me that this is precisely the reaction I had hoped this dress would earn me the first time I wore it.

“Mine,” he growled, pulling me to the here and now.

“Yours,” I breathed, dizzy from the up and down of our joining. “My love.”

“Forever?”

I shook my head, a moan escaping my lips. “I can’t–I won’t promise that.”

He let me drop with my full weight down on his cock, and pulled my hips against him so that he was as deep within me as he could be, making me groan. His hands ran up and down my body, making my head spin with delicious sensation. “I want you forever," he sighed.

My eyes met his as I pushed myself up. “I want you forever,” I replied. I let myself fall, impaling myself on his full length. He cried out and his fingers began rubbing fast circles over my clit. “But what I want–” I pulled myself up, then back down. “–and what–” up and then down “–I oughta do–” up, down, up down, “–aren’t always–” updownupdownupdown “–what I–ought–to–ffffffffuck!” And my whole body exploding with an orgasm beyond what I could’ve thought possible. He let me rest a moment before lying me on my back and crawling over me. He buried himself in me until I cried his name over and over, until tears of blood streaked down his face, until we were chuckling, exhausted, sated.

As he rested his head on my chest, his voice came raspy, “Call on Niall. Visit Faery. There’s a solution for us. There has to be.”

I took a long inhale. “Okay.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sookie tries going to the fairy realm to see if she can stop time for herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I've been away from this for a while!

A full moon illuminated the warm winter solstice night and I didn’t like Adele and I lingering out in the darkness any longer than we had to. We walked quickly away from the portal, my mind searching the woods for any humans or supes who might be nearby.  
I felt a void in the clearing ahead of me and I exhaled, comfort spreading through my body.  
“Eric?” Adele’s voice rang through the night.  
Eric zoomed forward, and Adele was in the air, giggling.   
“Yule tidings, Little One.”  
She scrunched her nose up. “Merry Christmas, Big One,” she shot back with a sassy smirk.  
Eric laughed easily. “Well, if it’s not Yule, then you won’t be needing this,” he smirked, tossing a little box between his hands.  
Adele laughed and hopped to grab the box. We walked toward the porch, Eric playing Keepaway with the box and Adele’s laughter ringing through the night.  
“Go on inside,” I sighed, sitting on the back steps. “I need a minute.”  
I felt exhausted. Training with Adele between worlds was taking its toll on me. I didn’t quite understand the fairy-speak that Niall had rattled on about when he explained the plane, but it was a little like straddling the two worlds–our’s and Faery. Being partially in Faery meant our powers were a little recharged by being close to other fairies, but it was physically more taxing than being on one plane or the other. Time worked differently there, but at a different speed than being totally in Faery–it was all too confusing, but it meant that spending 20 minutes practicing Adele’s powers resulted in five months slipping away at home.  
Eric told people he’d paid to send us on vacation to the South of France. I’d been furious, but I couldn’t come up with a better excuse.  
A wolf howled in the distance and my skin crawled. I turned my face up to the moon and closed my eyes. On nights like this, my Gran would’ve made a pot of cocoa and we would’ve settled into the couch with blankets. Slowly, she’d relate stories from the family history and little remembrances of mine and Jason’s childhoods. I felt a tug in my heart as I pictured Adele with a cocoa mustache, tucked in Gran’s lap.  
“Grief is like the ocean,” Eric commented from the doorway.  
My brows danced in confusion. “How so?”  
“It ebbs and flows, but always answers the pull of the moon.”  
I studied his frame. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, staring out into the woods.  
“Maybe,” I sighed. “Gran hated winter. Just before Christmas, she’d start to insulate the windows and I’d catch her staring out at the woods, like she thought something was out there. Comin’ for her.”  
I could read Eric’s expression loud and clear: something probably was out there, waiting for her. For me.  
I turned my face back to the moon. “It’s not working.”  
Eric flinched.  
“As soon as I get back here, I feel myself getting older. I feel it in my joints, in my skin,” I sighed heavily. “When I brought my Grandaddy back from there, he got old and then… dust.”  
At once, Eric was beside me, arm draped around my shoulders. “I am sure–”  
“It was a long shot,” I interrupted. “The magic is helping some, but I’m only a halfling. I’m going to die someday.”  
He was studying my face, as if searching for some sign that I was imagining it. I felt his long form slowly sag back, shrinking away from the truth.  
I chuckled darkly. “You know what’s funny? If I hadn’t used up so much of my light, I’d have a better shot,” I said, shaking my head. “I thought I didn’t want it. Now, I want it back and there’s nothin’ I can do.”  
There was a question on Eric’s face, and I knew it wasn’t one I wanted to hear. “What?”  
His eyes bore into mine. “Why are you so afraid of being supernatural?”  
I pinched my mouth and stared out at nothing. I wanted to scream, flail, kick and lash out against the question, but I held myself still. I pushed out my rage in a breath. “I’ve tried to embrace my fairy side, but it’s mostly just gotten me frustrated. My human side? I don’t know, I think I’m sick of people. So much hate.”  
Eric’s head bobbed understanding.  
“But vampires,” I sighed, shaking my head. Eric stilled, looking defensive. “All that plottin’. It never seems like vampires are ever safe. Knives in the back and danger all the time.”  
Eric’s eyes dropped to the ground and his face was sober.  
“Do you see why that’s not an appealing life for me?”  
Eric nodded slowly.  
“And you–” Eric’s eyes flicked to mine. “You’re king of the plots.”  
“Then I will–”  
I pressed my fingertips to his lips. “That’s what makes you you. That’s what makes you happy.”  
He shook his head away from my reach. “You. You are what makes me happy, Sookie. You and Adele. I would gladly give up–”  
“Shhh,” I exhaled, letting my eyes drift closed. I shook the thought slowly from my head, then lifted my eyes to his. “I don’t want you to do that. I could’ve had that with you before. My answer still hasn’t changed. You are a complicated man with your fingers in lots of pies. You’ve lived for a thousand years by being who you are. I don’t want you to put yourself at risk just because I can’t handle vampire business.”  
His face was hard. “You put me at risk by being mortal,” he snapped.  
It stung, but I shrugged. “I’d put you at risk even if I was made from steel and you stored me at the bottom of the ocean.”  
I watched him deflate. At length, he whispered, “Okay.”  
I felt my eyebrows twitch. “Huh?”  
“You’re right. I can’t protect you completely. You need to be mortal for your child,” he explained. “Okay.”  
I swallowed thickly. “What about you?”  
“Me?” He smirked, “I’ve managed for a thousand years. I’ll get by.”  
I laughed and settled into his shoulder.  
A thought itched at the horizon of my consciousness. “Eric?”  
“Hmm?”  
“I don’t want you to turn me,” I said, sounding as certain as I could. “But if it’s to save my life while Adele still needs me… then do it.”  
His lips pressed to my forehead. “I swear it.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sookie is sick.

“But what about meeee?”  
I croaked out a laugh. “What about you?”  
“I want presents!”  
“Of course you do,” I sighed, rolling my eyes deeply. I pulled a tissue from my robe pocket. “He’ll be up in a minute.”  
She groaned. I blew my nose and shook my head. “Can you at least stop hovering around his cubby and bring me some chicken soup?”  
“No way,” Adele exhaled. “Eric gets the best presents and I want mine!”  
I couldn’t argue with that. I spun the engagement ring around my finger absentmindedly.  
“Well, pick up that book and start reading. It’ll make the time go by faster.”  
Adele huffed a big sigh, but she flopped down on the bed beside me and started reading aloud. It was a funny little story about a kid detective searching for a jewel. Adele’s steady, confident reading made me smile softly to myself as my eyelids got heavier and heavier.  
I woke to cool lips on my forehead.  
“Sorry,” I yawned. “Must’ve drifted off.”  
Eric gave me a crooked smile. “For nearly four hours.”  
No way. I looked at the clock. “You let me sleep that long?”  
“Yule Blessings,” he quipped.  
I laughed. “I guess that’s as good a gift as any,” I mumbled.  
His eyebrows quirked and one long finger tapped something on my collarbone. My fingers followed his there and I felt two delicate chains with little charms–S and A.  
“Charmer,” I cracked.  
He laughed, appreciating my pun. “How are you feeling?”  
“Mostly better,” I sighed, sitting up. “Just still a little croaky.”  
“Well,” he drawled, “how about part two of your gift?” His lips found the sweet spot behind my ear that made me feel like a pad of butter on a baked potato.  
“But I’ll get you–”  
“Sick?” He chuckled in my ear before pressing his lips to my pulse. I had a split second to feel silly before another feeling settled itself in my core. His tongue traced the chain of my necklaces along my collarbone before he kissed the charms chastely.  
“But I feel so puny,” I whined, putting on a mock-pouty face.  
“I thought you were feeling mostly better,” he countered, pulling me into his lap, wrapping my legs around his waist, untying my robe and pushing it from my shoulders. “Just a little croaky?”  
“But mostly better isn’t aaaah–all better,” I stumbled as he pushed the strap of my nightgown down and caught my nipple between his lips.  
“And I’m so tired!”  
He smirked up at me. “Then let me do all the work.”  
I couldn’t argue with that. His hand slipped between us and he pulled himself free from his pants. He lifted me by my hips and slid me onto him, sitting up face to face, with agonizing slowness. I felt wonderfully dizzy as he pushed and pulled my body, my throat giving raspy little sounds of enjoyment.  
A buzzing sound caught my attention. Eric held up what looked like a necklace with a long, gold bar pendant. He smirked at my confused look. “Another little gift,” he explained. He then pressed it to my clit and–  
”Oh!”  
He smiled broadly. “You like?”  
“Yes,” I panted. I rocked against the little vibrator, and Eric let me take control. My hips ground fast little circles. My eyes snapped shut. One hand held Eric’s shoulder while the other toyed with a nipple. I just lost myself in the delicious vibrations and the feel of Eric so deep inside me. When my first orgasm hit, Eric chuckled aloud and whispered filthy nothings as my throat attempted sounds of pleasure, but managed only ragged squeaks.  
At length, his head dipped in to take over for my hand, this teeth pulling my nipple. He placed my hand his other shoulder and leaned back slightly, then began to bounce me on his cock. Each time we met, my breath left me.  
“I want you to come,” he demanded.  
I shook my head. “N-n… I don’t think… nnnnn,” I sputtered. I couldn’t. I didn’t have the energy. I didn’t have the strength. But the vibrator was back and everything was buzzy and up and down and he was so strong and deep and hard and deep and–”OH! Fffffuck yes!”  
“Good girl,” he breathed. Soon, he was sputtering, twitching, and then we were still.  
He laid back with me on top of him. His fingers drifted across my back, ghosting across my skin and giving me goosepimples.  
“Marry me, Sookie.”  
I thought about it. “My birthday is on a Saturday this year.”  
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Perfect.”


	9. Chapter 9

At once, he was pouring something in my mouth and I was choking. It was wonderful and awful and heart-crushingly bittersweet. I swallowed and felt my world snap into focus.  
“Sookie?”  
“Yesht?” Wait. My hand went to my mouth.  
No.  
No.  
“Dearest.” Eric’s voice was hoarse. I could tell he wanted to explain, but I felt like I was sinking. I was on my feet, stumbling away. I was fighting back the instinct to run, to fight, to attack.  
“How could you?”  
He looked frightened, sad. He stood. “You don’t remember?”  
I wracked my brain, but it was all static and fog.  
“The honeymoon,” he whispered, prompting my mind.  
Flashes of places I couldn’t recognize in a muddled blur. Narrow streets. Cerulean seas. Dense, lush jungle. An exotic market that smelled so strongly of spices. Soft beds, velvet bedding, Egyptian cotton sheets, mosquito nets.  
“We traveled the world,” he said. “I insisted. So foolish. I took you to so many places. I wanted to show you everything, but in such a short time. But that is what made it so difficult for the doctors.”  
“Doctors?” IVs, periwinkle scrubs, rough sheets, tubes, needles, flashlight in my eyes, heartbeat monitors, wires, hush voices, tests, tests, tests.  
“They think maybe it is a new disease or virus. They ruled out so many, but there are some in South America who showed your symptoms. The headaches were so severe, but we managed it–”  
A flash of pain rumbled through my head, a memory of the stiff neck and tight pressure. I wrote them off as tension headaches, which I’d had early on at Merlotte’s from so much concentrating on keeping out the voices. I had ignored the headaches until I couldn’t anymore. The doctors had given me migraine medicines, but they had barely kept me on my feet.  
“–until the nosebleeds began–”  
Blood everywhere. There was so much blood.  
“–I met you at the hospital. Encephalitis, scleritis, kidney failure.”  
Brain scans, sonograms, blood tests, eye patches. So many faces that looked so confused, confounded, resigned.  
“When your liver and bladder began to fail, you and I made an agreement.”  
“You would turn me.”  
“And you would rise on Midwinter night.” Eric looked sad, sympathetic, apologetic. Alone.  
Alone.  
“Oh, God! Adele!”  
I started to run but caught my knee on a stone. I looked around myself as I tripped. I was in the cemetery. Eric had put us to ground in my graveyard plot, beside my grandmother.  
“Adele is with Jason. She is safe. She knows you will be vampire,” Eric said, slowly, cautiously. “You will see her when the time is right.”  
My head whipped around and I met his gaze, feeling fierce, feeling full of molten rage. “You think I shouldn’t see her! You think I would feed off her!”  
Eric studied my face. “You have just been made. Many young ones do things that are rash, unpredictable.”  
“I would never hurt my own daughter!”  
“Of course, never intentionally–”  
Before I knew what had happened, he was holding my wrist and our fangs were bared to one another, hissing like cats. I had tried to slap him.  
Slowly, his anger melted into something else.  
I was ripping off his shirt and I sunk my fangs into his chest. He roared, flipping up my skirt and he was in me and–OH–he had held back so much before! But there, then, he was wild, fucking me with a strength that would have left me dazed in my human life.  
I pushed him back and rode him, marvelling at how easy it was to move above him, how acutely I felt my pleasure and how faint my fatigue was. His fingers circled my clit at a pace that my eyes would’ve missed before, but now my whole body was electric with desire and elation.  
At once, he had me on my hands and knees and he was behind me, pounding into me. Then he had my wrists pinned to the earth and he was entering me face-to-face. Then he was pinning me against a tree and moving his hips like a salsa dancer. Then he had my legs crossed sitting up and he just lifted me up and down on his cock.  
I laughed aloud.  
“Sookie, we have forever before us,” he smiled. “Love between us. Pain behind us.”  
I uncrossed my legs and straddled his lap, wrapping my arms around him, pressing our chests together. I kissed him deeply, blood tears slipping down my cheeks. “Yule Tidings, my love.”  
“Merry Christmas, my wife.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! Thank you to everyone who has commented and left kudos. I really appreciate it and thank you for reading!


End file.
